Her Twisted Beginnings
by I-Write-Terrible-Stories
Summary: From meeting the Whitebeard Pirates to leaving for her life of piracy from the coast of Dawn Island, Panther D. Mara had always been in the center of excitement, and her childhood was no exception. *PREQUEL TO HER TWISTED TALE*
1. Panther D Mara

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE**

**This story will focus on the life of Panther D. Mara from her time leaving her home in the Grand Line until she meets the famous ASL brothers and more. I figured that you guys would want some insight.**

**And yes, I am aware that there may be some continuity issues with Her Twisted Tale, but the things addressed in this fic will be the correct. (and if you don't notice them, then completely disregard this)**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Scarlet Island had never been nothing special to me. Even as a child, I couldn't help but see it as a dull, boring island on the Grand Line, the only interesting thing on the whole island being the large glass Temple that sat in the center. It was a beautiful structure that, truthfully, even the most uncultured, uncouth vagabond could appreciate. Especially on those summer mornings, when the sun came up just the right way over the backdrop that was a large mountain range, sparkling off the crystal clear glass in a way that cast small rainbows over the streets and houses. There was nothing I had liked more as a child than going to the Temple just before sunrise with my mom, sitting on a bench and watching the sun come up, a hot chocolate in my hand while she drank her coffee. And then we would rush back to the house before dad woke up, trying to keep our morning routine a secret so no one would crash our alone time together, and I would only return shortly after in order to continue my studies with the Priests inside the Temple, admiring the beauty of the inside.

In all honesty, those were my only fond memories of Scarlet. There was nothing that could compare to spending those chilly mornings by my mom's side, draped in a comfortable silence and knowing that she would be there with me forever. Because that was how a child such as myself though. My mom would never leave me. She would be there through my entire life and, in some kind of fantasy world, we would just live side by side forever. No death. No despair. No pain.

But oh, I was wrong. Every thought that I had of the notion of _forever _was quickly thrown under a very thick rug when Kaeli, my one and only sister, destroyed so much in such a short amount of time; my faith, my family, and my relationship with my best and truest friend. Mom, dad, Kai, and Yuvi were dead. There was no other way to say it. They were gone, and I should have been gone as well, but my aforementioned best and truest friend, Margie, didn't let that happen. She had saved me, at the cost of her hand and her eyesight. And Kaeli was locked up in the prison hidden in a dark corner of the island that I had never visited until she had went there. It only took a time period of fifteen minutes to destroy all the hopes and dreams that I had in anything, and it made me a very different person.

I was understandably darker after the events of that day. I would no longer go towards lakes, as they brought too much memories of seeing the water logged bodies of my father and brother. I didn't take food from just _anyone_, most of the time preferring to make my own, as it brought memories of my poisoned mother. Knives terrified me to the point that I would stand petrified at the sight of one, because they reminded me of my other brother who had been sliced down the middle until his left and right side...separated. And there was fire, which moved me to tears for reasons that didn't have to do with my own experience of being lit on fire, but for the pain that it brought Margie when she doused the flames for me.

My world had been turned upside down, and I had only been seven. My mornings had started to consist of avoiding the hospital at all costs and sitting before the Temple on that very bench that my mom and I had sat on not too long ago, staring blankly at the building as the sun glittered off of it's walls. I became reluctant in continuing my studying with the Priests, not because I didn't want to. It would have been a great way to keep my mind off of the fact that I was truly _alone _now. No, it was because after Kaeli did what she did, the Priests seemed to think that I was just as volatile as she. Cursed, was what they called me, and they tried to rid me of that curse in ways that weren't comfortable at all. I was subject to a handful of exorcisms until they realized it wasn't working. Then the prayer circles started, which involved placing me in the middle of the shrine on the other side of the island for all to see while they chanted in an ancient and dead tongue around me. That was how the other people on the island came to see that I was believed to be cursed, and it only caused more problems.

The fact that I continually told _everyone _that I wasn't cursed at all was completely ignored for the 'safety of the villagers'. So I stopped going to the Temple willingly. My studies ended and I found myself either sitting in my destroyed home or sitting on the bench before the Temple. Or, one some occasions, I brought myself down to the Lion's Tavern and enjoying the company of the drunkards and owner.

And almost exactly one year after everything went to shit, I found myself sitting at the bar in the Tavern, nursing a cup of warm milk to help me sleep later as the men and women started to come in the building, ordering drinks and greeting me. It made me feel slightly better that, with everyone thinking that I was some cursed being, these people still accepted me as a person. There was no fear. And it was probably because they pitied me for being all alone now, but I didn't mind. I would take what I could get.

"Well good evening, little Kitten!" A large hand engulfed the top of my head, ruffling my hair, sending the brown locks that already were a mess atop my head into an even bigger mess, making the knots larger with the movement. I ducked away and slapped at the hand, turning back to my milk and placing both hands over the glass. I didn't need to turn to see who it was, and it didn't take him long to move into the stool beside me and order a beer before turning to me once more. "Haven't see you in a few days! I was wondering if you had gotten sick."

I turned to him and frowned. It was Loo, a renowned baker on the island, despite his gruff appearance. Black hair, bright green eyes, and a large toothy grin. He was like an Uncle to every child on the island, and I was eternally grateful that he hadn't abandoned me after everything that happened. "I'm not sick." My voice was barely audible over the roar of the now-busy Tavern, but he had been listening for it and heard easily when he leaned his head closer.

"Well that's good! Don't worry me like that, Kitten!" I drank from my milk to his my small smile at the nickname that he had given me years ago, drawing the connected between Panther and Kitten in some odd way that I didn't understand, but enjoyed. "I was gonna tell Josie that we needed to go check on ya!"

At the sound of her name, Josie moved down the bar and handed him a beer right after smacking him on the head. "Don't talk about me when I ain't near ya." Loo grumbled and rubbed the bump. Josie turned to me and flashed a grin. "My favorite customer! I was about to go kick down your door and make sure you weren't..." He voice died down towards the end, but she didn't need to say it. It was obvious what the ending of that statement was.

_Dead._

I repeated that I was fine after a moment of awkward silence, and it seemed to make the world move again Josie tended to her customers, Loo talked to me and whoever else came over to sit by him, and the dull roar of the Tavern calmed my nerves. Nerves that shouldn't have to be calmed on an eight year old because that wasn't right.

The night was like every other night that I came here. Talking and games and drinking and singing. I sat at the bar while everyone line dance in the center of the room, sipping my new cup of milk and watching them enjoy themselves. Josie turned and waved me over, grinning wildly and close to tears from her laughter, but I shook my head, pointing to my bandages.

Covering the majority of my visible body, bandages wrapped around me and concealed my skin. Wearing my dress, they peaked out from under it, spanning my arms, shoulders, chest, neck, and legs. There were even some on my stomach, only to hold them on better, not because there were any wounds there. In reality, there weren't wounds anywhere on my body anymore. After a year, they all healed. The burns scarring over and blotching my skin. But I didn't say that they were healed. I didn't tell anyone. Simply because they had all assumed that I continued to go to the hospital for check ups and to get them changed, but I hadn't. I changed my own bandages at home to keep the story that I was still injured only so that I didn't have to pretend to be happy with everyone. If I was healed, I would be forced to dance. I would be forced to run and play. I would be taken fishing and moved back to the Temple. So I was still 'hurt'. And I would be hurt for as long as I could without drawing attention to myself.

Fiddling with the bandage covering my hand, I jumped when the door swung open and slammed into the wall. The music and singing stopped. Everyone turned their gaze to the doorway where a group of people were standing. Three men. One wearing all white, one with weird blond hair, and another dressed in a kimono looked very much like a women. If it hadn't been for his manly chest, I would have assumed he was a lady.

The man in white looked around and brought his hand to the back of his head, rubbing it with an embarrassed smile. "Uh, sorry about that. It opened better than I thought it would." He looked around the room at everyone still clinging to one another's shoulders and looked less embarrassed. "You guys havin' a party? Sweet!"

I turned back to the bar and rested my chin on the counter, fingertips idly drawing nonsensical patterns on the wood. I could hear Josie behind me welcoming the men and ushering them inside and away from the rain. I sneered. I hated the rain.

"Ah, so you're pirates then." I looked quickly to the three men and studied them a moment. They didn't look like pirates. The man in white looked like an aristocrat, the kimono-wearing man looked like a Geisha, and the blond looked like a pineapple. If they could be pirates, anyone could. They didn't look dangerous at all! Josie was smiling and talking to them, seeming to know who they were and what crew they were from, but I couldn't hear very well. A yawn took over and I decided it was time to head home. I crawled down from my stool and started away from the bar, but a hand gripped my dress strap. I stopped and looked behind me to Josie who was the one who had grabbed me, leaning over the bar until her feet were up in the air. "You better come back tomorrow night, ya hear?"

I shrugged out of her grasp and gave a short nod. She let me leave without another word, but I could hear the curious trio of pirates asking about me and my bandages. No doubt Josie was telling them what happened and how 'the poor thing was still coping with her loss'. It was the words she used when people said anything about my depressed mood. I was still coping. And I was coping.

But probably not in the way that she would approve of.

The trek to my house was short. I walked the street farthest from the Temple, went down an alley to avoid the hospital, and ended up on my street in less than ten minutes. Walking up the front steps, I shoved the door open and moved through to the living room. The noises I made scared away the crows and other various birds that made their home on my kitchen counter, coming and leaving through the busted out window that had been boarded over once, but was open once again thanks to a storm that tore the boards clean off. I stalked into the kitchen and stepped over the silverware as best as I could, occasionally miscalculating and pressing my foot onto a fork or knife. I sat in the midste of the silverware, broken plates, and knocked over furniture and grabbed a pair of scissors from where they laid on the floor.

With the scissors, I cut off the bandages on my arms and tossed them aside. Crawling over to a cupboard on my hands and knees, I grabbed more bandages from where I kept them after having stolen them from the hospital. Placing the roll of bandages on the floor beside my knee, I continued to strip my bandages, revealing skin that had been healed completely in the past year. My arms were fine. My hands were fine. My legs and feet were never burnt enough to be scarred. My shoulders, surprisingly, came out okay. The only problem was my neck. The back of my neck. I could _feel _the bumping scars that laid there, the molten flesh that still held the horrible smell of burning flesh. It was the part of me that I didn't want anyone to see. That scar was the reason I didn't go back to the hospital. I didn't want anyone to see. I didn't want them to see the reminder that my family was torn apart and dead.

Gone of any bandages, I held my hands out in front of me and looked at my fingers. I remembered when she was alive, my mom would place her hands against mine and point out how her fingers could 'eat mine'. And I would laugh when she curled her fingers forward over mine. Playful giggles, even as she said that one day, her hands would be smaller than mine. I never understood that, how her hands would be smaller than mine. But after the funeral, I got it. She was saying that one day, I would grow up, and she would grow old, and my fingers would be able to eat hers. The thoughts brought tears to my eyes, but I held them back. I wasn't a baby any more. I didn't need to cry every time I was reminded of my mom or dad or Kai or Yuvi or how happy we all were. There was no need for it.

With a sniff, I grabbed up the roll of bandages and started to wrap my legs. Starting from my foot, I wrapped all around and went up my calf and ended mid-thigh. The process was done twice. I moved to start my arms, cutting off enough bandage for one arm when I stopped. My eyes remained on the scissors in my hand and my mind went blank. The only thing I could see was the metal shining in the light. And I had that thought. What would it feel like? What would it feel like to just press it to my skin and slice? Would it feel good, like people said? Would I regret it if I did? It's not like I didn't have bandages to fix it up afterwards, so really, what harm was there in trying? And no one came around the house anyway, so I wouldn't be caught. Unless Josie or Loo were coming by, but they usually didn't at night. They were busy at the Tavern.

Nevertheless, I looked over my shoulder and took a deep breath. No witnesses but those birds that came back to sit in their nests, watching me with beady eyes. I turned back and pressed the blade of the scissors to my wrist. It cut through the first few layers, not yet drawing blood, and I cringed with a hiss. It hurt. My heart pounded and the blood rushed in my ears. Why did it hurt? Shouldn't I started feeling relief? Maybe if I cut deeper...

Just as I pressed the blade harder to my wrist, there was a loud bang from outside my window. My heart nearly jumped from my chest as I shrieked out, whirling to look to the window with evident fear. I could see nothing, but knew that I wasn't imagining it as the birds had all flew from the room as soon as the bang sounded. I stood from my spot on the floor for a better look, but winced in pain. Looking to my stinging wrist, I noticed that the scissors had sliced into my skin hard enough to draw blood this time, and it was dripping from the side of my wrist onto the floor. A metallic taste inhabited my mouth in an instant. There was no relief. I didn't like it. I didn't like it one bit.

Another bang from outside my window brought my attention back to the matter at hand, and I moved to see what was going on. Leaning up on the counter, I looked out the window, careful not to touch any of the glass that was scattered around, and peered into the darkness. For a minute, I saw nothing. Just the darkness and the nearby tree. And I was ready to go bandage my wrist, but then I saw it. An object coming closer. Closer. Clo...ser?

Something collided with my forehead and I stumbled backwards just as the words reached me. "_Demon demon go away, we wish you would have died that day!_" A chant. A song that they had made up after that day last year. A song that was sung by children and adults and everyone else, though they only did it when I was alone. The Priests always reminded them to be good people, even to the cursed, and the Tavern patrons kicked the ass of anyone who made fun of me. But at home, I was alone. Vulnerable in their eyes.

A second rock came towards the window, moving in what looked like slow motion, so I moved to the left, allowing it to sail into the kitchen and slam into the floor, sending up shards of glass on impact. Peels of laughter came from outside, but they were ignored as I started back to the floor, keeping my back to the cupboards under the broken window so that any other rocks thrown in wouldn't hit me. And they came in. One after another, hitting the walls and cupboards and toppled over chairs. I bandaged my arms, making the bandages heavier around my hurt wrist, and thought about getting up to scare them away. Maybe just getting up and going to them outside. Make a sudden noise. Throw something back.

"Oi, whattya think you kids are doin'?" A foreign voice brought my attention to outside my house. A voice that was annoyed and angry and confused all at once. "If you don't get outta here we're gonna kidnap you and sell ya to some slavers on Sabaody!" Screams rang out. Rushing footsteps moved away. Silence returned.

Curiosity got the best of me and I stood up from my position on the floor, leaning across the counter to look out the window once more, careful not to disturb the nests. I saw nobody. I heard nobody. Whoever had come and scared the kids away was gone as well, or else they were very good and keeping silent.

"You live here alone, kiddo?" My body jolted and my skin prickled. The voice came from behind me. Inside the house. Inside the kitchen. Turning to look over my shoulder slowly, I saw a strange man standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb with a smile on his face. He was bald. _Very _bald. And his eyes were a bright color that I couldn't make out through my watering eyes (from the sudden fright, not because of the bullies). He held up his hands in defence when I said nothing and smiled broader. "I ain't gonna hurt ya, so don't worry."

I frowned and got off the counter, turning to face him fully and readying to run if need be. "Why do you talk like that?" I questioned, tilting my head to the side.

The man laughed. A real laugh from the gut, clutching at his stomach and wiping tears from his eyes. "Oh, you're funny, kiddo!" His voice changed into something more...proper? "I talk like that because I'm a pirate, and I have a reputation to uphold!"

"That's stupid." I deadpanned, frowning deeper.

He nodded and moved off the wall, sliding down until he sat in the doorway and leaned against the doorjamb comfortably. "Yeah, it is pretty stupid, but that's life." I said nothing to that. I had nothing to say. The man continued to smile and gestured for me to take a seat as well. I continued to stand. "So," He started after a moment of silence. "What's your name, kiddo?"

_It sure as hell isn't kiddo. _"Mara." He gestured for me elaborate, so I did. "Panther D. Mara." His reaction was nothing like I expected. That glittering excitement in his eyes wavered, and he looked shocked. Scared, almost. And I heard him mutter something under his breath like 'one of them', and I frowned harder, if that was even possible. He studied me more closely as the light came back to his eyes, and I wanted to scream at him. But I controlled my voice and addressed his reaction calmly. "I'm not cursed. I promise you I'm not."

"What are you…?"

"They all say that I'm cursed because of what happened, but I'm _not._" My voice started to rise, but I was frustrated. They had already converted this stranger, and it pissed me off. "The Priests are just dumb and can't understand that she was _evil _and it has nothing to do with me. I'm not evil. I know I'm not. I would never kill anyone! But no one listens!" I was ranting now. I was ranting to a man that I didn't know. A man that broke into my house. But...it felt good. "So what if I survived? I didn't ask for it! I hate it! I hate that I lived and everyone else died! Why am I cursed for living through that? Margie isn't said to be cursed! She's in the hospital and blind and almost died! She was in worse condition than me! And _I'm _cursed?! I'm in trouble for living?!" Tears poured down my face and I hung my head, forehead resting in my knees drawn up to my chest. "I hate it. I hate it here. I miss my mom and my dad and my brothers. I just want to...I-I-"

I couldn't speak around the lump in my throat. I wiped my tear and kept my face out of view. The man was silent, and I would have thought he had left if I couldn't see his shoes as he sat across from me on the doorjamb.

The silence between us was heavy until he broke it. "Well, I'm Stafford." I would have scoffed at his seemingly ignoring my ranting, but he kept talking. "And I am the famed Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!" He sounded proud, and when I peeked up at him, he hands his hands on his hips and his head tilted up with a smug grin. "And I don't think you're cursed, but I think you should come with me."

"I'm not stupid enough to follow a strange man at night."

He scoffed and stood, offering his hand and grinning, eyes shining brightly once again. They were bright blue. "We're going to the Tavern. That Miss Josie said you're always down there, so why not come join us?" I furrowed my brows and he shook his hand in an attempt to get me to grab it. "I think my captain would like to meet you."

"Your captain?" What could a pirate captain want with me?

The pirate Stafford only nodded and took it upon himself to grab my arm, hauling me gently to my feet, minding the bandages as he thought that I was injured beneath them. I allowed him to pull me to my feet and out of the kitchen, towards the front door before I posed the question that I had thought. He only grinned and shrugged. "Well, he sort of has a long running history with your people."

"Me people?"

"Yeah." We walking in the street now, and I only barely registered that my hand was being held in his. "The 'D.' people."

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><p><strong>[AN]: So...? What do you think? Before you ask, yes, Stafford is an OC for the Whitebeard Pirates because I assume that there was someone who was the Second Division Commander before Ace, and as far as I know, there has been no one shown to have filled the position.**

**Leave reviews and all that jazz and lemme know what you think! I hope you like it~!**

**Love you and see you soon~**

**XoXoXoXoXo**


	2. The Infamous Whitebeard Pirates

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE**

**Oh, would you look at that! I updated two stories in one day?! Christmas Miracle?!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

I was frozen in place. My feet literally could not move. It wasn't because I was scared of him or anything. He was just very large; quite possibly the largest man that I had ever seen in my life. So large that he didn't fit inside the Tavern and instead, the partying patrons and pirates all moved out back to party around him instead. It was amazing, really, that even as he sat hunched over a bottle of alcohol, he was still much taller than the people standing around him.

Stafford pulled me along, all but dragging my feet along the ground for a few feet before realizing that I was frozen. "There's no need to be so scared." _I'm not scared. _"Pops is a nice guy. He ain't gonna hurt ya."

"Pops…?" I looked between Stafford and the large pirate captain and frowned. Were they really father and son?

I didn't get to ask as we came to a stop before the giant man and Stafford was bringing his attention to us by speaking loudly over the music. "Yo Pops, I got someone you might wanna meet!" I noticed that he had gotten his pirate accent back, but didn't comment on it. The pirate captain's eyes were on me now as Stafford continued to speak, and I felt uncomfortable. Like his stare held a physical weight that pressed on my shoulders. "This is Mara. Panther _D. _Mara"

Now he seemed interested. His eyebrow rose and he looked me up and down for a moment, studying me so hard that the weight pressed down even harder. "Good to meet ya, brat." I nodded in acknowledgement. "What's the point of this, Staffy-boy?"

"Oh yeah!" Stafford slapped his forehead and turned to me, kneeling on the ground and placing his hands on my shoulders. "Miss Josie said she wanted to see you! She should be inside with a few of the guys, so go on in there and I'll talk to Pops, okay?"

I nodded and went inside. Not because I believed him, because I didn't. Miss Josie knew that I was going home, and she wouldn't have sent a pirate to come get me if she needed to see me. She wouldn't have sent anyone. She would have waited until tomorrow night to tell me. Stafford also hadn't said anything this whole time about her needing to see me. Not until we were in front of this captain and he needed to answer his question. Obviously they needed to have an adult conversation without me there, a lot like mom and dad used to do. He could have just said so, but it was shrugged off as I pushed the front door open and hopped up on one of the stools at the counter.

His lie was even more obvious when Miss Josie looked to me with wide eyes, looked to the clock, and looked back at me with clear confusion. "Didn't you go home?" I shrugged and rested my elbow on the counter, bringing my face to rest in my hand and looked around behind the bar. Miss Josie walked from the three she was talking to, the three pirates that walked in earlier before I left, and came to stand before me, placing her hand on my forehead. "You're not sick, are you?"

I pulled my head back and waved her hands away. "I'm fine."

"Well then why are you here? I said to come back tomorrow night, not tonight. I thought you were tired!"

Behind me, a hand clapped onto my shoulder and I looked back to see Loo barely able to stand as he held a mug in his hand and grinned like a dope. "Aw, c'mon Josie! Maybe she missed ol' Uncle Loo~" I shoved his hand off of my shoulder and he slumped to the floor, hitting his shoulder hard on the ground.

Josie laughed and moved around the bar to point at him. "Yeah, she sure missed you, idiot!" I turned back to the counter and propped my chin up once more in my hand, ignoring them until my name was spoken once again. Josie was right beside me, between where I sat and where the three pirates sat. She bent down to my level and looked me in my eyes. "You're not having those dreams again, are you?"

I can't remember much after that. I know that I reassured Josie that the dreams weren't bothering me in the slightest that night. Then I had to lie when she brought up if I was being bullied again, because that was all I needed was Josie running to those kid's houses and giving them all some good slaps for being rude. And then at some point, I had to have fallen asleep at the bar because the next thing I knew, I was waking up at the crack of dawn by falling down onto the floor from my resting place. It was a rather rude awakening, falling from three feet up straight onto my stomach, but I needed it.

When I woke, the bar was near empty. A few of the men and women who were partying fell asleep on the tables and the floor and stayed there. I gingerly stepped over every stray limb, leaving the Tavern and making my way back to the house. My thoughts went to visiting the cemetery, but those were quickly dispelled. I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not since the funeral.

As I passed the docks, I stopped, transfixed on the large vessel stationed there. It was massive. Quite possibly the largest ship I had ever seen in my life. No other pirate crew came in a ship that was nearly the same size as the island itself, and I couldn't stop looking. And there was a part of me that wanted a closer look. But would that be okay? The pirates seemed friendly enough, but would they really want some kid coming near their ship?

"Yo, what're you doing out here so early, kiddo?" I turned to my left and spotted the pirate Stafford from the night before. He stood beside the man wearing white, the aristocratic looking pirate, both of them holding crates over their shoulders. I said nothing, simply looked at them. Then I started away, making my way back home and away from the docks. "Wait! Hey - - dammit! Hey, wait, kiddo!"

Turning, I saw the cause of his cursing. Stafford had went to come after me, but dropped a crate on his foot, which was now swollen as he limped around, knocking into the white wearing man. This caused the latter to fall to the ground, Stafford falling on top of him, and they were then smashed further into the ground by the crates falling on them. The white wearing man began to smack at Stafford, calling him names and trying to shove the man off who was busy cradling his hurt foot.

I took in look at this scene, blushed on their behalf, and turned on my heel, intent on going back home for real this time. But when I turned, I slammed into a body and had to step back to look up at who had been behind me. It was the pineapple haired pirate.

"Oi, what are you two doing?" The pineapple head shouted at the two on the ground, sighing when he was completely ignored. I took this opportunity to sneak around him and start down the street, but his hand reached back and grabbed ahold of the strap of my dress. "I don't think so." My eyes widened and I struggled against his hold, but to no avail. The pineapple head lifted me easily by my strap, my feet dangling a few feet off the ground as he brought me eye-level with himself. "You caused that, you help fix it."

My jaw fell to the floor and I could not believe it. I was being blamed for them falling on one another? It was Stafford's fault! And I told that pineapple head just that, and he might have let me off the hook if I _hadn't _called him pineapple head out loud. He promptly corrected me, telling me his proper name was Marco and that I should use it, before I was set beside the other two pirates that were the cause of all of this and told to carry a crate.

"Aw, come on Marco, look how small she is!" Stafford stepped back and gestured dramatically at my dwarfed size compared to the men around me. This caused me to huff and slap his hands away, claiming to be able to do it myself.

So I grabbed a crate, lifting it in my arms with little difficulty and strating to the ship, following after Marco who had walked away as soon as Stafford began to argue with him. The pineapple head turned to look at me over his shoulder, but I barely registered that. I was too busy trying to carry the box that seemed to weigh a ton! What the hell did they keep in these things? Cannon balls?! I mean, that would make sense. The crates being filled with cannon balls. They were pirates, after all, and I'm sure they got into fights out at sea all the time.

Going up the gangplank was an adventure in itself. My legs shook with the strain and I felt my cheeks heat because Stafford and the white wearing pirate were behind me, silently bearing with the fact that I was taking forever to get up. Marco waited up at the top on the deck of the ship looking down at me with his hands on his hips and a frown. This was harder than I had thought. I didn't think the box would be this heavy!

Behind me, the white wearing man spoke up, sounding worried. "Should we really have her do this? I mean, look at the bandages. She's clearly hurt."

"I'm fine." I grit out, taking another step and wiping the sweat from my forehead on my shoulder. A few more steps and I would make it. I got excite with the end in sight and wound up nearly running up the rest of the way, falling to my knees at the top and leaning my upper body across the crate, breathing deeply. "I'm tired."

Crates slammed down around me, and a hand found it's way to my head. I peeked up through my hair and saw that it was Stafford, grinning down at me before he walked away. The white wearing man followed. That left me alone with Marco.

I lifted myself off the crate, dusting off my dress, and stared him right in his eyes. The pineapple head cocked his head to the side and frowned deeply for a moment before a smile replaced it. "I can see why Pops likes you." Now it was my turn to cock my head and frown. Marco squatted down in front of me on the other side of the crate and rested his chin in his hand. "He was right. People with the Will of D are always full of spunk."

"The Will of D?" I had never heard of such a thing. Was it because of my middle initial?

Marco nodded. "You never heard of it?" I shook my head. "Well, that's alright. A lot of people haven't, and no one really knows what it means. Well, Pops might, but he doesn't tell anyone."

"You all call him 'Pops', but he's your captain, isn't he?" I noticed that Stafford did it as well as Marco, and I found it hard to believe that they were all _really _related.

He only smiled again. "He's like a father to us all. We're all one family, not related by blood, but still family nonetheless." I nodded slowly, somewhat understanding what he was saying, though I had never had a family that wasn't blood related. "Family is very important to him."

"That's good." I nodded again, giving him a small smile and trying to not think too much about the past. "You should hold onto family as long as you can because one day, it'll all be gone and you'll miss it a whole lot." My voice cracked near the end and I cleared my throat. "Well, I gotta go home now. Sorry for causing trouble, Mister Marco."

I bowed, turned to go, and was grabbed again, though this time, it was his words that grabbed me instead of his hands. "Do you want to meet him?" I looked over my shoulder, confused. "Pops. Do you want to meet Pops?"

And I did want to meet him, because he seemed unreal, and I really wanted another look at the giant man. I hadn't had much time to gawk last night. Marco led me through the ship, which all looked the same - - wooden. I couldn't make out any outstanding sights except for the few women in pink dressed that wandered around, talking amongst one another and shooting me glances that weren't unfriendly, but merely curious.

We stopped at a door that was too large, and I knew right away that the captain was behind there, because who else needed a door that large to a room? Unless there was another person on board that was just as large at the man. Marco knocked three times and went in, gesturing me to follow.

Inside, the large man sat in a chair, drinking from a _huge _cup and reading a normal sized newspaper. The sight would have made me amused had it not been for the fact that he was hooked up to machines that were all too similar to the ones that had been hooked up to Margie not too long after the incident. There was something displaying his heartbeat, something displaying his blood pressure, and another IV inserted in his arm that dripped fluids in.

"You're sick?"

My voice brought his attention to us from his newspaper and he shook his head. "Not sick, child, just old." Marco made a noise beside me, and the larger man turned to him with a look that I couldn't decipher. "Is there something wrong, Marco?"

"She helped bring one of the crates up and said she wanted to meet you." I didn't bother to say that _he _was the one that brought it up, and _he _forced me to help by picking me up off the ground because it didn't matter. I did bring a crate up, and I did want to meet this man, so there was nothing really wrong with his phrasing. "She's the girl from last night."

The man waved his large hand. "I know who she is." Marco bowed out of the room when the captain waved his hand for him to leave, and we were left alone. An awkward stare down began between the two of us. He looked me over, and I did the same, though it took longer for my eyes to take in his whole form than he took for me,

After a few minutes, I broke the silence. "My friend Margie has one of those too." I took a step forward and pointed to the bag of fluids. I wasn't sure why I was telling him, and I wasn't sure if she even still used that, but I said it already, and it was too late to take it back. "She had another one for blood too."

"I take it your friend was hurt then."

My hands smoothed over the front of my dress nervously as I hesitated to nod. "Uh, well, she..." I sighed and bowed my head. "Yeah. She was hurt pretty bad."

"Staffy-boy told me about your family." I looked up quickly and frowned. This man was quick to get to the point. "You're alone?" I hesitated, but nodded. He hummed in thought and leaned back in his chair. I fiddled with my dress and toed the ground nervously, watching his hand work his mustache while the other held his cup. What was he thinking? "Well," He began, setting his cup down and leaning forward to be closer to my face, grinning with his eyes closed. "You can come with us and not be alone anymore."

My refusal was at the tip of my tongue, but I stopped myself. I could go with them? Marco had said that this man held family to a higher standard, so it made sense that he would pity someone like me who had no family. But still, would that be okay? To leave, would that be fine? I said nothing of this, and only asked, "Why?"

This had the man leaning back and thinking about that. "You being here isn't good. You have the Will of D running through your veins, correct?" I had no idea, but nodded anyway because that's what everyone else seemed to think. "I don't think you're cursed, child. The people on this island are idiots if they believe that all of that bloodshed was your fault." Josie probably filled them in on the details. "You're a very special child, in fact, and I know that you will do great things in the future. I have no doubt in my mind that you will change the world around you."

Tears sprang to my eyes and, not for the first time, I found myself crying because of someone's words. The only difference was that this time, his kindness was bringing me to tears instead of harsh words, and that hurt just as much if not worse. I brought my arm up to wipe at my eyes, hiding my face from view and sniffling. "If I stay here, I'll die." I sobbed out, moving my arm and instead wiping at my eyes with the heels of my hands.

"That's why I'm offering you to come and join our family."

I sucked in a breath and rubbed my bandaged hands over my face, my tears spilling over my cheeks and falling from my chin in thick droplets. "Is it really okay?" He said nothing, but he didn't have to. It _was _okay. I could leave. I could go somewhere that's not prejudiced against me for a nonexistent curse. And this was a relief. Such a relief that I couldn't stop crying for a long time, and I sobbed into the silence. Nothing was said until I calmed myself, getting the last of my hiccups out and scrubbing my face clean of any tears, though the tracks and puffiness remained. "What's your name?"

He had went to reading his newspaper once again, so when I spoke, he took his eyes from the words and smiled down at me. "Edward Newgate, though everyone in the world knows me as Whitebeard, and to my family, I'm Pops." I frowned and studied his face harder. "Is something wrong?"

"You...don't even have a beard though."

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><p><strong>[AN]: God, I hope I'm getting these characters right. Do they seem off? Please tell me if they so because I suck at noticing when I have someone OOC until I get some hateful PM that usually goes like "EXCUUUSEEEE ME BUT THEY DO NOT DO THAT IT IS NOT CANON PLEASE FIX IT RIGHT NOW I WILL REPORT YOU" (totally kidding, no one has ever said that, but still...that's how I feel...)**

**Just thought I should throw it out there that I got a puppy for Christmas. Just saying.**

**Well, Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays, or Happy Day Off. Love you guys and see you soon~**

**XoXoXoXo**


	3. The Resolve to Leave

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE**

**Happy New Years!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

Four days was the limit I had to get everything squared away on Scarlet Island because, in four days, the Log Pose would be set and the Whitebeard Pirates, along with myself, would be off to the next one. And, after asking what the heck a Log Pose was, I stood in the middle of my ruined house and thought as hard as I could about what I should do in my four days.

There was, of course, the thought of simply staying on their ship until we left, because I couldn't think of anything right away that I wanted to do here. But there were two problems with that. One was that Stafford had said that he needed to clear a room out and make it into a small bedroom for me. Two was that Marco said he didn't want a brat on the ship any longer than he absolutely needs to. So it was 'kindly suggested' that I move around the island and take in the sights for the last time in a while, if not forever. And I took that to heart because really, four days, my departure was a done deal already because the Captain pinky promised me. So what could really go wrong in four days?

After a good while of thinking it through, I came up with nothing to do. I couldn't plan out my four days in advance. So I decided that the best first step was the house. It had been a mess since the day of the incident, really due to the men of the island rushing in and struggling with Kaeli when trying to apprehend her, as well as the medical teams coming in and starting emergency treatment on myself and Margie and pronouncing everyone else dead already. It was a busy day, is what I'm trying to say, and I had never had the energy to clean up. Why clean if I'm going to have to stare at the house as it used to be when we were all happy every single day until I died or left?

I also owed it to my mom to finally clean. She had always been the neat freak, fretting about every single dirty dish or muddy boot print that tracked across the floor. If there was one thing out of place, the whole house went on lockdown and we _cleaned. _That was why Kai and Yuvi always got in trouble for starting mud fights when it rained, and I was always pissed for being blamed. Mom was strict when it came to hygiene and cleanliness in general, and no matter how much she loved you, if you were messy in any way, she was _tough. _And she was probably rolling over her in grave for the past year because I allowed her house to stay in such a state for so long.

With a plan in mind, I set to work. Starting with the kitchen. I picked up a chair that had been resting near the pantry, standing it up on it's legs and pushing it to the counter, standing on the seat and grabbing a birds nest in my hands. The mother bird, resting on her eggs, peered at me through one open eye while I moved her nest out of the house and into a tree in the back yard. And the process was repeated for the rest of the nests in the kitchen, as well as any others that I found in other places of the house. In all, I moved thirteen nests out into various trees around the house, careful not to anger any of the birds and get my eyes pecked out, as my dad assured me would happen if I _ever _messed with a nest.

I grabbed a large towel from the floor, placed it on the floor, leaned over so my hands held it, and ran it all along the kitchen floor. This moved most of the debris - - broken glass, splintered wood, bits of ceiling, silverware, plates - - to one side of the room. I did this again to push it out of the back door. This entire process was repeated to move the same debris from the living room, into the kitchen, and into the pile forming outside the backdoor. I straightened the table, lifting the large mahogany piece of furniture from the floor with absolutely no grace, placing the chairs around it like we did all the time back then. One chair at each end of the rectangle, for mom and dad. Two on the left side, for myself and Kai, and two on the other side for Kaeli and Yuvi.

The broom sitting snapped in half against the wall, because I may or may not have had a fit of rage a few months ago, was put to use for the first time in a long time. Dust and dirt and smaller pieces of glass and wood were swept into the dust pan and thrown into a bucket, for the garbage can that had once sat in the kitchen disappeared some time ago. From the shed to the left of the house, I grabbed out many pieces of wood that my dad had kept in hopes of building a bookshelf, as well as the toolbox he had received from my mom a very long time ago. I set to nailing the boards over the broken windows in order to prevent anymore birds or rain or anything of the sort from dirtying the house again.

At the end of three hours, I was resting in the hallway and catching my breath, staring at the two locked doors before me, both locked from the inside. I had done that the first time I came back to the house in hopes of preserving what was on the other side. In hopes of keeping mom and dad's room as they last left it, as well as Kai and Yuvi's. My back was pressed against mine and Kaeli's old room, the door I had kept unlocked. And I was scared to go in there because much of my frustrations were taken out in that room on her belongings. Her bed was in tatters, a knife having been taken to it every time a birthday passed. All photos of her in our room were torn to shreds. The wood floor had many small bloodstains from accidentally cutting myself during a session of destroying everything that reminded me of her.

And that was when the cleaning, which had been going so well, got hard. Because I wanted to go in those locked rooms and tidy up, maybe dust a little and board up those windows as well. But on the other hand, I couldn't seem to make my hands move to pick the locks. I couldn't stop the shaking that overtook my hands whenever they got close to the doorknobs. And there was also the room behind me, that I hadn't entered in weeks, which was nothing that I wanted to clean. I didn't want to see that stuff anymore now that I knew I was leaving.

The front door opened with a creak just out of sight, and I tensed. "Yo, kiddo, you here?" I relaxed in an instant because there was only one person on this island that called me 'kiddo'. And to further prove that I was correct in my assumptions, Stafford came around the corner, his eyes still trained on the kitchen area with a confused look as he spoke to me. "So, uh, I see you've been making use of your spare time."

"Mom would be pretty mad if the house messy and I just _left._" Images of my mom's ghost getting revenge on me for leaving the house in it's previous state plagued my mind all of a sudden, and I had to shake them away. Stafford nodded and finally looked at me, coming to stand by my side and look down at me with a long hard stare. When I started to feel my skin prickle, I frowned. "Is something wrong?"

He flopped down beside me so suddenly that I jerked away from him, though he didn't notice as his eyes closed from the force of his grin. "I don't know, _is _there something wrong?" His question confused me, and it showed because he chuckled and tilted his head back against the wall, still observing me from his peripheral. "I've been outside calling your name for a few minutes before finally coming in."

"You have?" I didn't believe him. I hadn't heard him at all! "Were you yelling?"

"Was I yelling?" He scoffed and hitched a thumb at his chest. "Do ya take me for an idiot, kiddo? Of course I was yellin'!" I deadpanned at his 'pirate talk' and he chuckled before becoming serious once more. "So, why not tell me why you're so deep in thought for a five year old." I slapped his hand when it came to rest on my shoulder and glared. "Six?" My frown deepened. "No way in hell are you seven!"

I slapped him hard on his chest now and huffed. "I'm eight you stupid pirate!"

"You're so small!"

"How tall do you expect me to be?!"

He opened his mouth to yell something back, but instead of words, he simply laughed loudly. A laugh that came from the gut that had him gasping for air and me patting his back with the fear that he would suffocate and not get any air into his lungs. When he was finally able to speak again, he did so while wiping tears from his eyes and still giggling slightly. "I think that's the most emotion I've seen that's not depressing as shit! Good for you, kiddo."

I crossed my arms over my chest and shoved his arm. I wasn't depressing. "What do you want? I'm busy?" But I was secretly glad he was here because that meant that I still had more time to prepare myself for the rest of my cleaning.

Stafford had to actually think of his reason for coming here before he exclaimed and pounded his fist into his hand. "Got it!" I rolled my eyes. "Okay, so, I was walking around earlier and heard these guys in weird robes talking about some 'demon possessed child' that they were gonna try to fix before 'she leaves and brings the evil elsewhere'." I stared at him blankly and he looked expectant. When nothing happened, he sighed. "So, like, is that...you?"

"Yeah."

A hand clapped the back of my head and I was left rubbing the sore spot. "Don't say that so casually, dumbass!" I don't apologize and simply looked away from him. These names are familiar to me. The Priests have been calling me by these names since the incident, and there was never anything I could do about it. I was 'cursed'. The cursed have no say in their treatment. But they can run and hide, which had become my life since the exorcisms became more intense. Stafford sighed and placed his head on the back of my head once again, rubbing in a soothing manner instead of slapping it. "Marco heard 'em too, and he said to make sure you were alright."

That surprised me because it seemed Marco didn't like me as much, but I said nothing about that. I pulled away from Stafford's hand and stood up, stretching my arms and shaking my head. "I'll be fine."

He stayed longer, sitting beside me in the hallway, and we talked about a lot of things, though I can't remember what exactly we spoke about. I remember he cracked a few jokes, and made a big deal of my lips quirking up only slightly because he was 'making progress'. And when he left, he asked when I would finish cleaning, because he would come pick me up, but I shook my head and shrugged. "It's fine," I said, picking the lock of my mom and dad's door. "I'll just sleep here."

He left. I stayed. I went into my parents room, trying to ignore the photos and different things around the room that would remind me of what had once been. I dusted. And dusted. And dusted until the tears were streaming down my face and I had to go back into the hallway and take a break. Then, when my tears were dried and my heart calmed down, I went into Kai and Yuvi's room where the process was repeated and I ended up back in the hallway drying my face and evening out my breathing. I rushed back into those rooms and boarded up the windows with as much care as I could before leaving them once more, locking the doors from the inside to never go back in.

And then I had to deal with mine and Kaeli's room. I didn't get the sadness that I did when I went into the other two rooms, but instead felt a raw, unhinged anger and pain that made the air thick. My hands trembled as I entered the room, and continued to grow progressively shaky as I gathered every ruined thing in the room and simply threw them from the window. I wouldn't have been able to make it to the door. I moved quickly, trying to breathe evenly around the lump that had formed in my throat.

When I got to my part of the room, the part I hadn't been to in about a year, I froze. There were many things there that were still in good condition. Things that hadn't been ruined by my throwing things around. A framed photo of the whole family. A small bear that had been given to me by Kai and Yuvi on my birthday one year. A seashell that seemed to be nothing of value, but really it was very important because it was the last one I had grabbed from the beach with my mom and dad. And tucked under my bed, something I had set aside after the incident and never looked at again, was a bag or money. Coins and bills, an unknown amount that I had collected from every room of the house.

I finished cleaning out the room, the end result appearing to be a room for a single person, and left the room. On the way out, I grabbed the money and nothing else. I wanted to bring no reminders of my past along with me to the ship except for the memories. No physical evidence. If I had been more dramatic, I'd've burned the house down as well before leaving the island for good, but that was stupid.

That night, I slept on the kitchen floor in the spot I had been sleeping in for the past few months. And for some reason, my heart felt lighter.

888

"Psst. _Psssssst!_" My nose twitched as something brushed against it. Dust? A feather? "Oi, you're not dead, are you?" A hissing whisper in my ear. The voice unfamiliar in my foggy, half-asleep state. "Oh my god, she's dead." Now it was louder, leaning away from my face and sounding disbelieving, but also a little amused.

Footsteps, hard against the ground and hurried. They stopped. Heavy breathing. A growl. A slap. "Don't be a fucking idiot, Thatch!" Laughter, more slaps, and a small scuffle.

I woke up when a foot connected with my leg, not hard, but a mere tap. Things were getting annoying, and it was hard to sleep when, upon glancing over, two grown men were wrestling on the floor, one slapping the other many times in the face with a victorious grin. "Don't feel to good, does it?!" The man on top laughed at the other.

Stretching upwards, I tuned the two of them out and moved to look out the open front door. The sun was high in the sky. It had to be around noon. "What are you guys doing here?" I felt like I asked that question a lot since I met the Whitebeard Pirates, but they were always showing up unannounced and for seemingly no reason other than to come see me. It was weird and a little off putting. I looked over my shoulder at the two men, now standing and straightening their clothes, and frowned. "What time is it?"

"It's well past noon!" The aristocrat pirate jumped forward and grabbed my shoulders, a look of mischief in his eyes. I blushed at the close proximity and, from what I heard, had reason to believe his name was Thatch, even though it was a dumb name. "And you were still asleep! What were you doing last night, huh? Partying before you left? Well let me tell you, you're too young to party like that, and as our travelling companion, it's my duty to look after you!"

My blush disappeared as soon as he opened his mouth, and my expression went to that of a deadpan one.

From behind Thatch, Stafford reared up and smacked him on the back of his head. "She's not partying, dumbass!" I pursed my lips and slid out from Thatch's hold, unnoticed. "I told ya she was cleanin' up her house, but you're a fucking idiot!"

"Hey, watch your language, moron!" Thatch whirled and slapped a hand over Stafford's mouth. "She's only five, so show some class." I held my tongue and slipped out of the door, again unnoticed, and moved away from the house.

I had just turned a corner when I heard a great yell from back at the house. "She's how old?!" I rolled my eyes and continued on to my next destination. Lion's Tavern was dead at this time of day, but that didn't mean it was closed. I always came here to relax during the day. Sitting at the bar and drinking juice or eating some snacks while Josie, and sometimes Loo, cleaned up the place for the next night. Sometimes I even helped, but today would not be one of those days. I was tired from yesterday.

Stepping through the door, I waved to Loo who was on sweeping duty, brushing glass and crumbs and dirt into a dustpan with an annoyed expression. He hated helping Josie. I sat myself on a bar stool and rested my elbows on the counter, waiting patiently for Josie to come from wherever she was.

"So Kitten, how was your day yesterday?" Loo asked while still sweeping, grunting when I gave only a shrug of my shoulders and didn't even turn to look at him. "Those pirates came in last night. Kept talking about ya." Now I glanced over at him, mainly from the tone he used. More annoyed, kind of pissed. And his face matched his tone perfectly. "Any ideas why?"

_So he doesn't know yet._

Again, I shrugged. And at that moment, Josie came from the back carrying a crate of alcohol, placing them on the shelf behind the bar with a glance in my direction accompanied by a smile. "Well, look what the cat dragged in! I thought I said to come back yesterday?"

Had she? I thought back to the other day, but couldn't remember for the life of me. But, Josie didn't lie, so I grimaced and lowered my head. "Sorry about that. I was busy."

"Ah, it's fine. Loo! Dammit, you moron! Stop sweeping up perfectly good cups into the garbage!" The man being scolded grumbled and cursed under his breath, but stopped once Josie spoke again. "So, I heard you're leavin', Mara."

Before I could respond, Loo yelled loudly. "Leaving?! Where the hell are you going?! To a new house?!"

"Shut up, Loo." Josie warned with that glare that could get any of the rowdy men in line, and Loo was no exception. She turned to me with softer eyes and smiled. "I think that's good that you're finally getting out of here, what with everything that those Holy Bastards are saying about you. I don't think you're way of leaving is very smart though."

I cocked my head to the side and frowned. "What do you mean?" My way of leaving? My way of leaving shouldn't matter so long as I get out of here and live a better life, right?

Josie nodded and stopped her work, coming to stand in front of me and leaning against the counter so her face was closer to mine, probably trying to keep Loo out of the conversation. "I mean, you're putting your life in the hands of _pirates. _And yes, I agree that they seem like good people, but that could just be the surface, and also could just be what we've seen. There are many members I haven't met, many that haven't come onto the island." I nodded along with what she was saying, taking it all into consideration. "I mean, there could be pedophiles on that ship for all we know, and do you really think that the handful you can trust will be able to protect you 24/7?"

I had nothing to say to that. She had a valid point. She had many valid points. I could very well go to that ship and leave with them, only for everything to be a trap. A way to lure kids onto their ships willingly. And then what? Dad used to keep us informed on what pedophiles would do if they ever got their hands on us, and it wasn't good. Would I be killed? Raped? Sold? Turned into a slave?

As if reading my mind, Josie frowned. "A lot of bad things could happen to you on that ship, and I want you to be 100% certain that you _really _want to go with them. That you really trust them with your life. Because once you leave, there's no going back. And we won't stop you if you want to go with them in the end."

"Ha, speak for yourself, Jojo!" Loo swung his arm around my shoulders and looked to her with the angriest expression I had seen on his face. His cheeks were red and his eyes were hard. Like glass. Piercing. Josie scowled at the man. "I ain't lettin' Mara go with those criminals. Over my dead body!"

The sound of the door closing behind us caused the three of us to jump. Loo whirled around, bringing me with him, and Josie peeked around us. At the door stood the pineapple head. Marco. And he looked as bored as he always did, but his shoulders were more squared. "Ah, I was just looking for you, Mara." I furrowed my brows because I didn't know that he knew my name. Marco walked forward, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere. "Stafford and Thatch were supposed to tell you, but they're idiots. Anyway, your room is done on the ship, so I can show you to it if you'd like."

"You can't be serious!" Loo turned, grabbing both of my shoulders, and looked me dead in the eye. "You already have a room? Come on Mara, you're a _kid. _Not a pirate! Think about things before you do stuff like this! Do you want to end up like the rest of your family?!"

Josie gasped behind me. "Loo, that's enough!"

I pulled out from his hands and jumped from the stool. "I know what I'm doing, so stop worrying about me." And I went to Marco, meeting his eyes as I craned my neck up. "I'll go see it since you came all this way."

He led me down the streets, most likely noticing that people were avoiding the both of us to the best of their abilities, but not commenting on it. He was a famous pirate. He was probably always avoided. And I didn't comment because I was 'cursed'. I was used to it.

And neither of us spoke until we got to the docks and was ready to go up the gangplank. Marco turned to look at me and smirked. "Over his dead body, huh?"

"You heard him?" I covered my face to hide my blush while Marco hummed out a yes. But then I peeked up at him and thought back to mine and Josie's concerns, and figured that I should get it all out in the open now rather than wait until later. "I...Mister Marco, can I trust you guys?"

"We're pirates, kid. You probably shouldn't trust pirates. Or strangers for that matter, since you're so young. Especially strange men."

I nodded, already knowing that, but pressed on. "I mean, you guys aren't going to...do things to me, are you?" He stopped in an instant. I nearly ran into the backs of his legs. Looking up, I saw that his whole back was now rigid and, though I couldn't see his face, I was sure it showcased a shocked expression. "Mister Marco...?"

He turned and knelt down to my level, his eyes no longer droopy as they were snapped open with alertness and surprise. "What the hell are you talking about? Do things to you?" I shrugged and relayed my thoughts from the bar, how they could kill, rape, sell, or enslave me. With each concern, his face became more disbelieving. "I don't - - we're not those kind of people, kid. None of us are. You can trust me on that."

"But you just said that I probably shouldn't trust pirates, strangers, or strange men." I pointed out, not trying to sound like a smartass, but coming off that way despite that. "And you're all three of those."

Marco sighed and hung his head. Then spoke quietly, his hands on my shoulders and his voice sincere. "No one on this ship is going to do any of those things to you. You won't get hurt, okay?" I hesitated, but nodded when he looked up at me. "And if you want, you can talk to the nurses about how everyone is, since they're women and you're a girl. That might establish more trust, right?"

I agreed readily, because he was right, it was easier to trust a woman more so than a man. That was why I was on better terms with Josie than with Loo. She understood me more than he did. Just like those nurses that I had a glimpse of yesterday would understand my concerns more than Marco or Thatch or Stafford.

He said that my room can wait until I speak to the women of the ship, and I was led to the hallway that I believed was the one I walked through with him yesterday to see Whitebeard. He moved to one door and knocked a few times, waiting patiently until someone from the other side asked who it was. And when he made it known it was him, with company, we were invited into a room that looked cleaner than any room I had ever seen, especially since it seemed four people shared the room.

Three women, however, were present when we walked in. Two blondes and a redhead. One blonde sat at a desk, shuffling through paperwork while peering over his glasses in our direction before getting back to what she was doing. The redhead was sprawled on one of the beds, holding a newspaper in her limp hands and smiling my way. The third woman, the other blonde, was standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed and her foot tapping against the wooden floor.

"Who's the kid?" The blonde in the middle of the room demanded, looking between myself and Marco with an annoyed expression. Her eyes were a bright green and hardened to look like the emerald that had once hung from my mom's neck. A pretty color, but very cold and distant.

From the bed, the redhead jumped up and slapped the other woman's arm. "Be nice, Heather!" She approached with a grin, kneeling down beside me and patting my head. "You're so cute~! Marco, who is she?" The woman looked to the man beside me, then back to me. It was then that I saw that her eyes were a yellow color, something that I would associate with a bird rather than a person.

"This is Mara. Mara, this is Jade," He indicated the redhead in front of me, and she grinned. "Heather," The blonde in the middle snorted at her name and moved to the bed that Jade had been on, grabbing the newspaper and flipping through the articles. "And over there is Lynn." The third woman waved slowly over her shoulder, not looking up from the papers before her.

Jade nodded and jumped up, smoothing down her pink dress and peering at Marco. "And is there a reason that cute little Mara is on this ship…?"

"She's gonna be travelling with us." The three women all looked to me now with more interested, Lynn actually looking up from her papers. "And, as a young girl, she had concerns that the three of you will ease. Got it?"

A silence stretched between the five of us before Jade clicked her feet together and saluted the man playfully. "Aye aye, Commander!" She then grabbed his shoulders, turning him around and shoving him to the door. "Now get out so we can have a girl conversation."

Somehow, I ended up sitting on the chair that Lynn had occupied, facing the three women that were now sitting on the floor in a semi-circle. Jade had her hands in her lap, Heather was fixing her braid, and Lynn was cleaning her glasses off on her dress skirt. I swung my legs nervously in the air, hands going to my knotted and dirty hair, fingering the brown locks as we all simply...sat.

"So," Jade started, clapping her hands loudly and startling the rest of us. "Marco said you have some concerns? Well, what's up?"

I was suddenly embarrassed. Too embarrassed to say the things I said to Marco earlier because I was scared I would get the same disbelieving reaction that he gave me. So I simply said, "What's the crew even like?"

And this question got me a different explanation from each woman. Jade assured me that there weren't any completely evil guys on the crew, just some that looked a little creepy. The guys were all nice enough and wouldn't do anything like hurt a woman or a child or anyone innocent, because then they would answer to 'Pops' and that wasn't fun when they were in trouble. Heather, with a grin, said that they were all pigs and that they weren't worthy of being called men. This earned a slap from Jade, but Heather stuck by her words, not apologizing. She was just being honest, she said, and thought that was the best for me, though she was still grinning when she said that. Lynn loved the whole crew and saw really no faults in them because, as she said, if they were able to live under Whitebeard and call him Pops, then they couldn't be bad at all.

But there were some things that they all agreed on wholeheartedly.

"No matter what, day or night, for every little thing, those men will find a reason to throw a damn party." Jade held up a finger.

"They're loud and obnoxious most of the time." Lynn held up two fingers.

"And it takes a good punch to the head - - multiple times - - to get them to bathe and get the smell of ass and sweat off of their bodies and clothes." Heather held up three fingers.

I nodded slowly, taking in everything that the three women said about the crew. They seemed like how I imagined them to be; rowdy, but not evil people. And Whitebeard was descibed how I perceived him to be upon our second meeting. He was kind and caring and truly loved everyone on the ship. Heather, Jade, and Lynn had nothing but good things to say about their 'Pops', and it was nice to know that they weren't going to decieve me.

Heather's green eyes were suddenly directly level with my own brown eyes, and she looked analyzing. Critical. "When's the last time you changed these bandages?" My eyes travelled from her face to the bandages covering my body and I frowned. They were dirty now, from cleaning the house and sleeping in them. I hadn't changed them since the other night when Stafford came and brought me to the Tavern. Heather clicked her tongue and moved to grab my arm. "I'll change them, so gimme your damn arm."

I pulled away and smiled. "Ah, no thanks."

A vein throbbed in her forehead. "No thanks?" My smile wavered as I could see the flames of rage literally coming from behind her. Jade, still seating on the ground, called Heather's name nervously, but she was ignored. "I am a nurse! You will let me change your bandages!"

I had successfully got away from Heather's hands by sliding out of the chair and making a beeline for the door, turning to look at them over my shoulder and thanking them really quickly before leaving and shutting the door firmly behind me. I sighed heavily and leaned against the door, shaking my head. "That was close."

"What was close?" I squeaked in surprise and was ready to bolt away when laughter rang through the hallway, and I looked up to see Thatch and Stafford standing against the wall across from me. Thatch had been the one to speak. "Runnin' from Heather? Don't worry, everyone does at some point. She's the mean one."

The door behind me flung open and the blonde in question turned her fiery rage on the impeccably dressed pirate. "Who's the mean one?!" Thatch gave a feminine scream and made a run for it, the angry nurse dressed in her pink uniform close behind, brandishing a clipboard that she managed to smack into his arm several times before they rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. Leaving only Stafford and myself.

The man beside me sighed heavily and scratched the back of his head. "I swear, Thatch never learns his lesson."

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled. "Heather can't stand that man, and he always has to say things about her." He rolled his eyes and jutted his knee outwards, hitting it gently into my side. "Marco said to show you you're room. He's busy."

I followed Stafford down the hallway, turning out into the deck of the ship, and in through another door nearby that led into another hallway. There were doors lining the walls on both sides. We passed several before coming to a stop in front of one that had been left open.

Peering in, I saw the basics of a bedroom. A bed, of course, complete with a blanket, pillows, and a small bear resting in the middle, which confused me until Stafford said that it was Pops' 'welcome to the ship' present. A desk sat against one wall, a small window over the top of it with a chair in front of the desk. A chest sat at the foot of the bed, most likely empty and waiting for me to put things in it.

Stafford cleared his throat and brought my attention to his grinning face. "Well, do you like it, kiddo?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's nice."

"Great!" He clapped once and steered me out of the room. "Now is time for the grand tour. You'll need to remember where the bathrooms are, and the mess hall definitely, and Pops room because, well, that may be important. I'll teach you how to climb up the crows nest and you can even sit in with me on watch some nights! And you can see the training rooms and learn how to shoot a gun maybe, yeah?"

He led me all around, commentating on everything and everyone, and in the end, by the time I was leaving the ship to go back to my house as the sun went down, I forgot every single thing that he said and could no longer remember where my own room was.

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><p><strong>[AN]: So this chapter was originally twice as long, but since it was bordering 10,000 words, I decided to cut it in half. (God that's a long fucking chapter!)**

**So, how do you guys like it? Do you even like it at all? And I really hope that I'm doing the Whitebeard Pirates justice because I don't know if I'm even writing Marco or Thatch right or even Whitebeard! I mean, with my OCs I have more liberty, but with those three specifically, I need to be somewhat right!**

**Anyway, I hope you guys liked it! Like, favorite, review and all that jazz please! Give me your constructive criticism and everything because I do read every review and answer questions when they're asked!**

**Love you guys and see you soon~**

**XoXoXoXo**


	4. Farewell

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

On the third day of the four that were left, there was nothing significant that happened. I visited the Tavern again, where Loo continued to try and get me to rethink my decision, and where I assured Josie that I spoke to Marco and some of the nurses that are a part of the crew and made sure that everything was as safe as can be.

"Just promise me," Josie spoke up over the usual nighttime buzz, leaning her mouth towards my ear and placing a reassuring hand on my forearm. "That you're not gonna let those guys bully you or anything, okay? Don't let that ship be the same as the idiots here."

And that was the last night that I saw Josie. At the end of the night, when I went to go to the house, I surprised her by running into her legs and hugging her around her waist. She returned the hug and patted my head, and I found it hard to let go all of a sudden. Because Josie had been the first to be there for me after the incident, and she was one of the few that stayed even after the Priests spread the rumors of my 'curse' around the island. And I never really thanked her for that, because I couldn't find the words and didn't know how to thank her. So this hug was what showed my feelings, and she understood them because she whispered out that I didn't need to thank her at all. And then I was gone.

But of course, with everything going so well my last few days on Scarlet, things had to go to crap on the last day I had. And it all started that morning when I woke up to the boards covering the kitchen window being pelted with rocks and various glasswares that shattered on impact. It was a rather rude awakening, getting me up just before the sun rose when I would have much rather preferred getting up when it was high in the air.

I didn't let that bother me, though, because I was very happy on that fourth day. I was finally leaving the island! I had never left before, and I was a mixture of nervousness and excitement, with the feeling that I might throw up before the day was over, even though I found it hard to stop the smile from spreading over my face.

Dressing for the day, putting on a pair of pants and a shirt, I made my way out of the house about an hour after the throwing of the rocks and glass stopped. Nobody was around the house, and I was able to make it out of there before any of the pirates could come and see me. It was kind of weird, not seeing Thatch or Stafford or even Jade as soon as I woke up, but it wasn't unwelcome. In fact, when it happened, I was kind of freaked out by seeing a grinning face as soon as my eyes opened to a new day.

Today was my last day, and it really hit me the night before that I may never come back. I wasn't exactly _sad, _but I felt odd. Two years ago, leaving Scarlet never crossed my mind because I always thought that I would stay here, get married, have kids, and just grow old in a small house somewhere near the beach. It was a fantasy that I relayed to my mom many times that only got me laughed at and patted on the head. "_Of course, honey." _Mom would say, hiding her chuckles beneath her hand. "_Do whatever makes you happy."_

And even though I wasn't staying on the island, like I had originally planned when I was around four or five, I was still doing what would make me happy. And that was all mom had wanted, right?

With my thoughts on my mom, I had set my plan for the day quickly. And it would start with a tradition that I had dropped a year before because my tradition partner, my mom, was gone. I walked down the silent streets, sandals slapping against the cobblestone roads, and made my way towards the bakery that was across the street from the Temple. I entered the building, making my way to the counter and earning the attention of the woman decorating a cake. She cast me a wary glance, slowing her movement and cocking her brow.

"Can I help you?"

I pulled a couple of coins from my pocket, setting them on the counter and smiling. "One hot chocolate, please."

Sitting down on the bench in front of the shop next door, a clothing shop that had yet to open, I swung my legs happily and held my hot chocolate in my hands, the warmth spreading over my palms from the cardboard cup. The sun was coming up just behind the Temple, casting small rainbows over the streets and buildings. It was a pretty sight that I remember my mom always commented on, and I never really paid attention until now. And I was happy. And I was feeling great as I sipped my beverage.

But when the doors of the Temple opened in one fluid motion, and the eyes of several people locked on my form, I could _feel _that everything was about to turn upside down. There was a thought that entered my mind, as the hooded figures of the Priests approached, that I _could _just get up and get away. I could run. I could probably even walk and still get away. However, there was also the thought that I wasn't going to see them anymore after today. And I might as well go through this one last meeting one last time before leaving.

"Child, come with us." The man in the front, with a clean shaven face full of wrinkles and eyes that were sunken and black as coal. Father Haley. The head Priest. He smiled, showing his teeth that were white and straight. It was a kind smile, really, but whenever I went with them, I didn't think they were that kind. "We're going to try another exorcism."

I shook my head and sipped my hot chocolate. "That's fine, Father Haley. I'm not cursed, so there's no point."

His eyes hardened. "You _are _cursed. It is in your demon blood. Now, come with us into the Temple so we may help you."

"If I am cursed," I began, cocking my head to the side. "Then wouldn't the exorcism have worked the first time?"

Father Haley leaned down closer, hands clasped in front of him and his smile gone. "You will not leave with those pirates, and you _will _come to the Temple. Do not cause a scene, child." There was a threat laced in his words, and I didn't argue because if I did cause a scene, things would go bad quickly. People already didn't trust that I was safe to be around, and if I fought against the holy men of the island, I would be seen even worse. And that could cause trouble for the Whitebeard Pirates, and I didn't want that at all.

I allowed them to lead me to the Temple, standing in the center of the group of eleven robed men, and held my head high. I wouldn't have this be the same as every other time I had come with them to the Temple in the past year. I wouldn't let them hurt me physically or emotionally, though the former only happened on accident sometimes.

Father Haley brought me to the front of the Temple, past the pews and staircase that led up to a balcony like structure that overlooked the room, leading me to the altar in the front. At once, they began what they had to do. I was placed in the middle of the group, my hot chocolate still in hand until one of them reached out and grabbed the cup, throwing it away before I could protest. Though I did gape at him in anger and annoyance.

Incense began burning without further ado, and the prayers started in a language that I couldn't hope to understand. I stood silently and looking between every face around me, hidden by the shadows of their hoods that were pulled over their heads. Something was different this time. Their heads were bowed instead of looking directly at me, as they had in the past, and there was a feeling of apprehension washing over me as I watched them. What were they planning? And why did the incense smell so different this time?

Father Haley's voice rose over the sounds of everyone else, praying in the same language as them, but using different words. The smoke from the burning incense held in their hands swirled around my body, entering my lungs and causing a cough to come out, wet and nasty. I was ignored as my eyes began to water and my nose burned.

"I'm done." I choked out, moving to walk between two of the people that formed the circle. I just passed them when their hands grabbed each of my arms, pulling me back into the circle by force, never once breaking the prayers. "Hey!"

"Silence, child!" Father Haley shouted. My shoulders jerked from his sudden loudness and I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes. "You will not leave until we are finished! I would be a disgrace to the Gods if I allowed a cursed being such as yourself off this island without successful treatment."

I coughed again, pounding my chest and wiping my watering eyes to clear my blurry vision. And it angered me so much that they wouldn't let me leave that I used a word I had heard many times, more recently from Thatch when he stubbed his toe yesterday. "_Fuck _your treatment."

Father Haley's red face was very visible through my blurry vision, and I didn't realize he was getting closer until his hand grabbed ahold of my arm. "You will not use that foul language in this holy place you _demon._"

"Father stop!" A voice hissed from my left.

You know the feeling of something descending towards your face? Or something coming towards you in general? I knew that something was about to make contact with my face, and I closed my eyes for the impact.

The impact that never came.

"Oi, I don't know what's going on, but I didn't think that a Holy man would strike a child." The familiar voice, though appearing to be at ease, was shaking with anger. And when I wiped my eyes one final time, I saw that the circle around me had dispersed, each robed figure standing a good ten feet back while Father Haley's wrist was locked in the grip of Marco. His usual droopy eyes were hard with a glare, and his hand holding Father Haley's wrist was shaking. "That seems to a sin in and of itself, doesn't it?"

"What does a pirate like you know? You're existence is a sin." Father Haley hissed, and cringed when Marco's grip visibly tightened on his wrist. "Just as the existence of her people is a sin."

Marco hummed and cocked his head to the side. "So that's it." I frowned at his sudden tone of seeming to know what was going on when I was still confused as ever. "So, was it you guys that really killed her family? Were you behind it?" Father Haley vehemently denied this as I looked between the both of them with wide eyes, not quite understanding what was going on. "And your 'exorcism' is really just a cover up because that isn't incense, but really those poisonous flowers that grow on the mountain. Right?"

I looked at the other Priests and noticed that they all had surgical masks hanging from their necks, as did Father Haley. And it made sense why they all had their heads bowed and why the incense smelled different this time. "You guys...tried to kill me?" Before Father Haley could answer, I shook my arm from his hold and reached towards Marco, grabbing ahold of his unbuttoned shirt and tugging him as I walked to the door. Both men looked down at me in confusion. "Let's just go, Mister Marco."

"Ah, whatever." He dropped his hold on Father Haley's wrist and walked by my side out of the Temple. Behind us, Father Haley shouted for me to come back, but he was ignored. We walked down the street and towards the house. "You alright, brat?" I nodded. "You lying?" I shook my head and almost smiled. "Where are we going?"

I released his shirt and looked up at him. "Sorry, I forgot I was holding you." He waved it off and repeated his question. "I was gonna go say goodbye to my parents and brothers."

We walked in silence, past many buildings and past the house until I got to the gates of the cemetery. I paused at the gate and frowned. I hadn't visited at all, the only time I ever came was when the funerals were happening. Marco noticed my hesitation and planted his hand on my head. "I'll head back now. Just come to the ship when you're done. We leave in the morning."

"Yeah...I'll be there." I waited until his footsteps were no longer audible before I entered the gates of the cemetery, maneuvering around tombstones and large structures until I reached the four graves that were marked with the family name. I looked over each one, reading the birth and death dates of my mom, dad, Kai and Yuvi. If things had turned out differently, my name would have been on a stone beside theirs. Or maybe Margie's name. An awkwardness clung to me as I stood before them, and I felt very out of place. "H-hey guys."

My legs shook so hard that I had to sit down before I collapsed. And I just sat. For a long time. In silence. Reading over the names and dates over and over again and whispering them to myself. I couldn't seem to bring myself to address my family yet. Because my throat was constricted. And if I spoke too soon, I would break down into sobs and they wouldn't understand me. So I waited. For how long, I don't know, but I waited. And when I was finally able to speak around the lump in my throat, everything just...spilled out.

I told them about everything that's happened in the past year. About Josie and Loo staying by my side. About how Father Haley and the Priests were spreading rumors about my curse. And I asked them if they knew anything about that 'Will of D' that Marco and Whitebeard had mentioned, which I believe was also the reason behind the Priests trying to kill me and calling me a demon. I didn't get an answer, though. Of course I didn't. And when I talked about how I would be free from the island and the darkness that was swallowing me by staying, I felt a breeze lift up my knotted hair. Almost as if they were all encouraging my decision. And I was incredibly happy again. Happier than I had been in a year, and I found myself reminiscing on the past with them, as if they were all sitting across from me. And I was laughing. Laughing and crying and simply being with my family one last time.

There was no way to know how long I had been sitting there before I realized it was dark out. All day. The entire day was spent sitting in front of the tombstones and talking to my family. And it was, honestly, the perfect day. I loved it. Every second was happy, even as I remembered the sadder things, and I found it hard to leave them. I was done talking, though. I was simply sitting again, legs crossed and hands clasped in my lap, enjoying the silence. Over the course of the hours spent here, a few people came by to see their own loved ones. They didn't look at me, and I didn't look at them. That's why, when footsteps sounded behind me, I didn't react at all.

No reaction until the person sat beside me. I looked from the corner of my eye up to Stafford, who was leaning back on his hands and reading over the stones carefully. "All on the same day, huh?" I said nothing. "That's pretty sad. Sorry about that, kiddo." I pursed my lips. What was he doing here? As if reading my mind, Stafford looked down at me and grinned. "Marco said he left you here and, even though he's a grump and wouldn't admit it, he was worried about you. So, I came moseying down here to make sure our dear little friend wasn't in any more trouble."

"Sorry," I apologized, standing up and dusting off the butt of my pants. "I guess I got caught up talking." He hummed and watched me from the corner of his eye as I went to the tombstones and brushed my hand over the tops of each one, kissing them all. "Bye guys. I'll come back and see you again one day, and when I do, I'll talk for days about everything that happens."

Stafford stood next, taking a few steps away from the graves before turning back to them and bowing at the waist. When I questioned his actions, he ignored me and, instead, addressed the people buried beneath our feet. "Presea, Leono, Kai, and Yuvi." I raised an eyebrow at the way he made sure to speak each of their names. What was he doing? "I promise that I'll take care of Mara while she's with us, so don't worry."

He then left without another word or a backwards glance. I was left to look between him and the tombstones before following after him, running until I was by his side and looked up at his face. "Y'know, that wasn't necessary..." He shrugged and didn't even bother to look down at me. I nodded and looked forward as well. "So...we leaving in the morning?"

"Yeah, as soon as the Log Pose is for sure set, we'll shove off to the next island." He yawned and began to clean out his ear with his pinky. "It might be early, so we gotta go back now and be sure to wake up refreshed in the morning."

A bubbling excitement reared it's head in my stomach and the next thing I knew, I was grabbing Stafford's hand and jumping up and down while walking beside him. "Oh! Will you wake me up so I can see us leaving the island?!"

Stafford laughed loudly. "Yeah yeah, I'll get you up." I cheered with a fist in the air and stopped jumping, walking by his side calmly, though my hand still squeezed his. "I see that almost being poisoned improved your mood drastically." I gave him a questioning look. He shrugged. "Marco mentioned it."

"I'm just happy I talked to mom, dad, and my brothers." I admitted as we walked on the docks, moving to the gangplank. "I haven't gone to see them yet, so I think seeing them before going made me happier." He nodded and let go of my hand, moving on to do whatever it was he needed to do. Maybe to go to his room? And as he waved over his shoulder, I tried to say that I didn't know where my room was, but he already disappeared behind a door.

And I was left in the middle of the deck.

_Crap._

At random, I moved to a door and threw it open, walking into the mess hall where the eyes of a great handful of pirates all turned to me. I met their stares with my own, a blush coloring my cheeks as I became the center of attention. And just as I was about to move out of the room, my name was called, and Jade was skipping over with Heather and Lynn following leisurely behind her.

"Oh you cute little thing~! Are you here for food? Are you hungry? Thatch! Make Mara some food!"

I waved my hands before me and shook my head quickly. "I'm not hungry. Mister Thatch, I'm not hungry!" The white wearing man poked his head out from the doorway to the kitchen and gave a thumbs up. I turned back to Jade and frowned. "I...can't find my room..."

"So that's why you looked confused when you came in." From behind Jade, Marco walked up and grabbed my arm. "Come on, I'll show you. Jade, you three finish getting Pops' food all set. _No _sake, got it?" They saluted him seriously. I was led from the room and brought to the deck once more, where Marco brought me to a different door and down a hallway. "You should really remember where things are."

I nodded and blushed again. "Sorry..."

"It's fine. I'll show you around tomorrow. Even though I thought Stafford did it..." I wanted to say that he did, but I would either look like an idiot, or he would, so I kept my mouth shut. Marco opened the door to the room that I recognized as mine. "You sure you're not hungry? I don't need you starving to death in here."

I shook my head and flinched at the mention of dying. "No, I'm fine." I was really too excited to eat anything because I felt like I would throw up. Marco nodded and turned to leave, but I stopped him by wrapping my arms around his thighs and resting my cheek against the side of one of them. Marco froze. "Thank you guys. I-it means a lot that you're bringing me away from this place."

"Well after what I saw earlier, I wouldn't leave anyone with the D initial there." I smiled and let go, giving him a large grin. He looked shocked for a moment, but shook his head and smiled ruefully, ruffling my hair and turning to leave. "Get some sleep, brat."

But I couldn't sleep for a long time that night. I laid awake in my bed, occasionally getting up to look out of the window, glancing at what I could see of the island in the darkness. Other times I listened to the crew outside on the deck, talking loudly. Probably drunk. And when I finally got to sleep, it was only for an hour of two because the next thing I knew, my door was thrown open and a body was jumping onto the bed beside me, flapping the blanket around and cheering.

"Wake up wake up! We're leaving, kid! Get up and come see!"

His hand reached to grab my wrist, gripping tightly and pulling. I hissed in pain, jerking my hand back and cradling the wrist to my chest, fully awake and sitting up, inspecting the bandages to check and make sure I hadn't bled through. The cut I accidentally gave myself with the scissors only days earlier hadn't fully healed yet, and it was sore.

A second voice chimed in at the doorway, speaking a single word before marching up and slapping the person on the bed beside me, I discovered to be Thatch, on the head. I turned to the newcomer. It was Jade. "You can't just grab her anywhere, Thatch. She has bandages all over, so there's obviously some severe injuries beneath them." Though she came in angrily, her voice was calm sounding. Almost like she was mildly scolding a child. "Mara, are you okay? I can look at those for you. I am a nurse, after all~"

"No no, I'm fine." I held up my hands and jumped from the bed. "I, uh, he just grabbed too tightly. I'm fine though. Really, Miss Jade." She narrowed her eyes, not believing me. Thatch yelled out in woe, dropping to his knees before me and slamming his forehead to the floor, apologizing loudly through sobs. Panicking, I reached a hand out and patted his odd hair. "It's fine, Mister Thatch. I'm not hurt. See?" I held up both arms and grinned.

Jade reached her hand forward and grabbed my arm. "Not hurt? You're bleeding, Mara!" Sure enough, the cut had bled through the bandages, and no matter how much I tried to convince her I was fine, I ended up being dragged by Thatch and Jade to the infirmary, a large room that reminded me of the hospital. I sat on one of the beds with my arms crossed. "Let me see." I shook my head. Jade glared and stood, knocking her stool back so it clattered to the floor. I jumped and, seeing an opening, she grabbed my hands and smiled. "Thank you."

Thatch clapped, sitting on the bed across from me, his face poking around her shoulder to see what she was doing as her back was to him. "You're pretty good, Jade." I scowled at her trick and didn't fight anymore. They would find out sooner or later, and sooner was probably better. "Aw, don't make that face, kid! You're not gonna miss anything. We're all just getting set to go, so we got about an hour until we really leave."

Still, I pouted and would have crossed my arms had they not been held in Jade's hands as she unravelled my bandages.

"Gah, these are done so sloppily!" I shrugged indifferently. I knew I wasn't good at it, but my job was enough in my opinion. "I swear, some people should _not _be allowed to be doctors or nurses. Idiots..."

I sat quietly, though I wanted to comment on what she would see or, rather, what she _wouldn't _see beneath the bandages. But I couldn't find the words. What could I say? '_Oh yeah, about this, I'm not really injured anymore, but I keep these on because I'm too much of a coward to take them off.' _

But from the confused hum coming from Jade when she finished uncovering my arms, she had already discovered the uninjured skin. And as she continued to unravel bandages from my arms, moving on to my legs, she made another noise of discovery. Thatch, out of the loop, leaned over her shoulder and frowned. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Mara," She ignored him and turned her eyes to me. "Who was doing your bandages?" I said nothing and bit my lip. "Because no doctor would waste supplies like this, bandaging nothing."

"Nothing?" Thatch looked down at my exposed arms and legs, eyes bulging from their sockets. "Holy shit you're healed! It's a miracle!"

Jade lifted a fist and got him directly in the center of his face. "Shut up or get out, idiot." I had never heard her voice move on to something more serious, so I was scared when she turned her eyes back to me and narrowed them. "You did this yourself, right." She didn't need confirmation. She knew. "Why?" I shifted on the bed and avoided eye contact. She repeated her question more sternly.

"I don't wanna talk about it..." I mumbled, my chin moving to my chest.

Silence in the room. Then she released my arms, wrapping a small amount of bandages on my injured wrist, then patted my head. I looked up with wide eyes and she smiled. "Don't worry about it. Talk when you're ready." I nodded dumbly. Her usual cheerfulness was back and I liked that. "Now, you and Thatch head up on deck. We'll be leaving soon."

The white wearing man needed no further words of encouragement to swoop around the nurse, grabbing me carefully around the waist and tucking me under his arm. "Off we go, kid!" He ran from the room, slamming the door open and earning a yell from Jade as he stampeded down the hall and out the door onto the deck, causing a commotion that brought several pairs of eyes our way before they started to get back to what they were doing.

On deck was very lively. Much different than how I had seen it the last few days. Everyone worked like a well-oiled machine, pulling ropes, barking orders, and lifting the anchors from the water. I watched in awe from under Thatch's arm as everyone moved around the deck, never bumping into one another and seeming very used to the routine of leaving an island. And Thatch provided commentary as we made our way to the edge of the deck, commenting on what everyone was doing, but I didn't listen much. I had been too transfixed on their movements rather than the details.

It wasn't until I was pulled from under his arm and sat down on the railing, my feet hanging over the edge with my back to the deck that I stopped watching them and stared out at Scarlet. My home.

"Last chance to run back over there." Thatch commented, leaning down until his elbows rested on the railing and his chin was cradled in his palm. "No way we're gonna be able to turn around a bring you back once we leave."

I thought for a moment, watching the island with narrowed eyes. People wandered around, some watching the ship while others completely ignored it. I looked to the Temple. The general area of my house. The hospital. The prison. The cemetery. And I thought about leaving it all behind and never coming back. And that didn't bother me at all. I felt no sadness. No regret. Just...happy. Adventurous.

"That's okay, Mister Thatch." I spoke as the call was made to move away. And the ship moved slowly from the docks, the island getting farther and farther away with each second. When the island was nothing but a speck on the horizon, I grabbed his shoulder and turned around, jumping onto the deck and giving him a small smile. "I already said my goodbyes anyway."

* * *

><p><strong>[AN]: Aaaaaaand she's gone. Goodbye Scarlet Island, hello adventures with the Whitebeards!**

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